So after a bit of a rough patch last year I have been running sales for a friend of mine at his little company. Its been very interesting work selling and managing 8 different IT products, working at your own pace, trying out new things and seeing how they work. An added benefit is I have been able to soend more time with my son and watch him grow and also that I’ve been able to kitesurf during the north east monsoon on the occasional weekday.

Taking a van across the border to Desaru in Malaysia during the week is an amazing experience. There is no stress. The beach is empty. Its just a small group of guys of various levels of competency with 4kms of beach to themselves. Its awesome.

As a result of these trips my kitesurfing has improved a lot. Its cross onshore or onshore wind that blows at around 12-15 knots with gusts up to about 20. Also, there are waves that get up to about 2 meters or so and some nasty chop. I am not the greatest kiter out there and I did find it really challenging at the start. When you are used to riding on flat water it can be quite difficult to pilot your kite through sets of waves without bogging down or becoming airborne. However, after a few runs I really started to enjoy myself. A lot of it in part to my Shinn Monk kiteboard which is insanely fast and handles the chop and waves really well.

It was on the second trip this I learnt something else. I really like to ride with a lot of kite power. I was riding my 14 meter in about 20 knots at times 2 inches away from maximum depower. When you have lots of power everything instantly becomes much easier, much faster and much more fun. I’m really looking forward to a few more weekday sessions before the end of the season.